...

EVEN THOUGH THEY HAD complained about her pulling off her shirt there, the rain wasn't ceasing and they only had one room in the tent - the one they were standing in right now. So as Will went to the corner to change, Levi and Alex pulled off their shirts and pants in the middle of the tent. She had to admit it was nice to watch. They were all lean and muscular, with the frames of people who fought regularly, the only thing covering them now their boxershorts.

"So, you all can do this," Ella said," but I can't?"

"You can," Alex said," and I'm absolutely encouraging you to."

Ella rolled her eyes at him, but raised an eyebrow at Levi's scowl. "I need to change my pants."

"No," he said.

So she stood up and pulled her pants off. The shirt was long enough to function as a dress anyway, so it wasn't like anyone could see anything. It covered half of her upper leg, revealing her tanned legs as she held up the soaking jeans.

"You can't just -" Levi began.

"I can and I did," Ella said as she looked around the tent, searching for a place to hang her wet clothes.

"I have to admit this, babe," Alex said amusedly," I've never seen someone banter as much with Levi as you have and you've only known him for a day now. You even manage to get a rise out of him, to my surprise."

Levi gave him an incredulous look, before shaking his head.

"We're fighting all the time," Ella said," what banter are you talking about?"

"She's right," he said.

"Did you just say I'm right?" she said.

In response Levi's eyes widened and he cursed under his breath. Before they both could start bickering again, Will quickly intervened, a grin on his face as he threw a sleeping bag at Levi.

"You see? You're getting along already."

Levi caught it, before giving it to Ella. "Get in."

"What?" she said, surprised.

"It's cold," he said," you're not wearing much. Get in."

"What's up with you?" Ella said," if I didn't know better, I would almost say you cared."

Levi scowled at her and a smile tugged at her lips as she took it from him.

"Thank you," she said.

Levi stopped dead in his tracks. "What?"

"I said thank you," Ella said, before gesturing towards herself," for the shirt and the sleeping bag. You're sweet."

Levi was quiet for a moment, but when Will threw a second sleeping bag at him he seemed to be shaken out of it. His gaze was quickly diverted and he turned his back towards her.

"I'm not," he said.

"Oh sure you're not," Ella smiled.

"You're annoying," he retorted.

"So are you," she said, although her initial irritation had faded a bit.

"Don't hog her for yourself now," Alex said as he unrolled his sleeping bag beside her," we all want to sleep next to her."

"I'm not," Levi said, before glaring at Alex," and you're not sleeping beside her. We're sleeping over there and she's over here."

"What's the fun in being seperated?" Alex pouted.

"I agree with Levi," Will said, his cheeks tinted a faint red," we can't sleep beside her."

"The tent is miniscule," Ella said," there's not much else to go."

"Then I'm going beside you," Levi said as he glared at Alex," there's no way Alex is lying there."

"Whatever," Ella said, too fatigued to protest now.

The day had been tiring, from the way she had to rise early to the setting up of the tent. If she was going to lie down, she would probably fall asleep immediately. If this was only the first day, she wasn't sure how much effort the other six days would be.

They all unrolled their sleeping bags, lying on opposite sides of each other, Levi and Ella on one side, Alex and Will on the other. She propped herself up on her elbows, looking at Will, who was opposite her.

"Let's tell some ghost stories," he said, shining the light of his phone on his face to give it an eery vibe.

"Good idea," Alex grinned, resting his head on his folded arms," if you need anyone to hold you when you're scared, babe, I'm right here."

"You really need to get a girlfriend," Ella said.

Alex opened his mouth to protest, his face shocked, and Will burst out in laughter.

"For your information," Alex said," I can easily get a girlfriend."

"Great," Ella said," then go for it."

"What if I wanted you?" Alex asked, his eyes unreadable.

Though he seemed serious then, she knew very well he didn't mean it. The only thing close to honest emotions she had seen from him until now had been with Ava and right now, he was looking far from that. So she shook her head, her answer certain.

"You don't."

"How do you know?" he challenged.

"Because you're just teasing," Ella said," I wouldn't react this way if you were telling the truth and neither would you."

He blinked in surprise, an amused chuckle escaping him quickly after. "You sure are honest."

Everything she had lied about flashed in front of her face, but she didn't allow herself to feel guilty. It wasn't like she was hiding that much and besides, she had only known these guys for a day. They probably would part ways and never speak again after this trip, so she couldn't imagine her lie really being that bad.

"Even our Levi seems to have started to care a bit for you now," Alex smirked," you're quite easy to get along with, Ella."

Levi frowned at him in confusion, but Alex didn't pay him any mind.

"And I've started to like you more since you've stopped calling me babe," Ella smiled.

"I'm glad we became friends," Will beamed at her.

"I have to admit," Ella said," I expected this camp to be more violent."

"This is day one," Alex chuckled," don't worry about the lack of violence."

"I'm not," Ella said," I'm hoping for it."

Levi looked at her, his arms folded under his head as he laid on his back, his facial expression undecipherable in the darkness. "You hate violence that much?"

She couldn't possibly say it was her first resort in almost each situation. Not when her image as a good girl was so carefully maintained right now.

"You're hanging with the wrong crew then," Alex said, saving her from having to answer.

"This whole camp is the wrong crew then," Ella said.

"No, but I really mean it," Alex said," we're not on quite the same level as the rest of the camp, are we Peterson?"

And then it clicked. The reason their names had been so familiar, the reverent way people looked at them -

Levi Peterson. He had started a gang some time ago, becoming notorious in the martial arts world within no time. Sebastian had spoken of him and his friends quite a few times, their names mentioned whenever they showed up to spar with him or just to hang.

And then there were Will Tyler and Alex Farrow, his close friends, both with a rap sheet at least a mile long. Will Tyler, the baseball prodigy who had used his bat to smash windows in and Alex Farrow, the son of a notorious boxer, whose skill paralleled that of professionals. But it was Levi who Sebastian had seen the most potential in, the young gang leader strong enough to fight almost on par with Sebastian, who was two years older.

"What?" Alex said when she still hadn't replied," you've finally placed us?"

"We don't scare you, do we?" Will said worriedly, his eyes focused on her face.

"Don't worry," Ella reassured him," it's fine."

She turned her head towards Levi, glad the darkness was covering her face. Her expression was sure to be an impressed one and his arrogant ass would never let her live that down.

"The leader of the Devils, huh?" Ella said.

"One of my many accomplishments," Levi drawled.

"Besides being arrogant, of course," Ella said, although it was more teasing now than harshness.

"Besides that, yeah," Levi said.

"Who knew I was with such celebrities?" Ella said, a smile tugging at her lips.

"I'd autograph you anywhere you want, Ella," Alex grinned.

"I know you would," Ella said, before turning her head towards Will," a bat? I hadn't expected that, to be honest."

"He's really good with it," Alex said," once broke  a guy's bones with it because he talked shit about me and Levi."

"I would never hurt you though, El," Will promised.

She wondered what their reaction would be once they knew she was Eleanora Martinez, sister of the notorious Demon and former MMA youth champion.

"I know," she said.